Barber&#39;s auxiliary seat



June 17, 1952 B. KLEIN ETAL 2,600,547

BARBER'S AUXILIARY SEAT Filed May 14, 1946 4 INVENTORJ, BEN KLEIN/1ND CARL GHOBERG.

"I A TTORNEY Patented June 17, 1952 BARBERS AUXILIARY SEAT Ben Klein and Carl G. Hoberg, Santa Monica, Calif.; said Hoberg assignor of one-third of the whole to said Klein Application May 14, 1946, Serial No. 669,659

Our invention relates to a chair for a barber, as contrasted to the chair used by the barbers clientele.

It is well known that the barbering profession is a tiring and exhausting activity. This is due to the fact that the barber must be on his feet for many long hours to properly make the necessary manual movements. Furthermore, the barber must move about constantly to cut the hair from various angles and also to properly shave the persons seeking his services.

Many attempts have been made to provide the barber with a movable stool or other support to allow him to conduct his activities in a more restful manner. These stools, even though wheeled or otherwise made portable, have been unsatisfactory due to the fact that the person being worked upon normally resides in a swivel mounted chair. Thus as the client is swiveled from one position to another, the stool on which the barber might seek to be seated must be moved about, thus requiring the barber to dismount from the stool, move it to the new position and again resume his seat.

The present invention, however, seeks to eliminate these deficiencies of prior devices by providing a barbers chair that is not only readily portable, but specially designed to be moved only in the desired direction of travel.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a barbers chair that has a fixed path of travel with respect to the chair in which the barbers client is seated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable barbers chair that is highly stable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a barbers chair having a readily adjustable height.

A further object of the invention is to provide a barbers chair having a foot rest of appropriate height.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent in the foregoing description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the barber chair of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the barbers chair of the invention; and

Fig. 3 is anelevation view partly in section of the adjustable mounting for the seat portion of the barbers chair.

Referring to the drawing, there is provided a framework Hi supported by four wheels H and having a swivel platform l2 at the top thereof Claims. (01. -2)

upon which a barber may be seated. As shown most clearly in Fig. 2, the wheels II are mounted on stationary axles l3 which are inclined toward each other. Therefore, the chair as a whole will move in a circular path when it is propelled and will move in no other direction or path unless bodily lifted.

The point of intersection of lines projected through each of the two axles l3 determinesthe center about which the barbers chair will move along its circular path, and we prefer to have the radius of this circular path at a given dis tance outside of the radius of travel of the outermost portion of the swivel mounted client's chair customarily found in barber shops. This radius therefore from the center of rotation to the center of the seat support will vary from three to five feet, depending upon the size of clients chair employed. The wheels H are preferably provided with rubber tires M to give the chair a quiet operation as well as a softer more buoyant feel.

The framework of the base of the chair which we prefer to employ in our chair consists of a hexagon shape having the general outline of a keystone, the outer inclined edges being defined by the two axles l3, the smaller end pieces being defined by two tubular members l6 and the two larger inclined pieces being defined by two tubular members H. ,A central brace l8 connects the point of intersection of the inclined members It and IT. The axles [3 may be inserted through drilled holes in the members I6 and I! or they may be welded to these members. In any event, however, they form tension members for the outside of the keystone-shaped framework, thus forming a rigid framework due to the particular type of stresses applied thereto by the brace members which will be hereinafter described.

The seat supporting portions of the framework 10 include a tubular post l9 welded to the cross bar l8, and this post is braced in a direction along the path of travel of the chair by two inclined members 2| connecting themid point of the vertical post to the juncture of the axles l3 with the outermost inclined members l'l. Thus the forces tending to tip the chair along the path of travel are transmitted to the broadest portion of the wheeled framework; namely, that part closest to the axles of the outermost wheels. The vertical post I9 is supported transversely to the path of travel of the chair by two other inclined tubes 22 secured at a point above the middle thereof and connecting to the point of juncture of the inclined members I6 and I1. Thus the forces tending to tip the chair transversely to the path of travel are transmitted to the broadest portion of the chair base along this direction.

Further, it is noted that when the weight of the barber is assumed by the post l9, it will tend to move downwardly as the elastic structure yields slightly. This tendency to move downwardly, however, is counteracted by the brace members 2! thereupon tending to spread the base framework. This spreading action, however, is resisted by the tension induced in the axles l3 and in the members 11. Similarly the braces 22 tend to spread the base framework, but

this action is resisted by tension within the tie member IS.

The seat 12 is eccentrically mounted with respect to the post I9 and is provided with a swivel joint so that rotation of the seat 12 on the post l9 causes it to move toward or away from the client being worked upon. This swivel joint is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein it is shown that the vertical post 19 terminates in an enlarged collar portion 23 having a thumb screw 24 passing therethrough to secure a telescopic tubular member 26. The seat 12 is screwed to a supporting plate 27 having an integral stub shaft 28 secured thereto. Thus the post i9 supports a normally stationary tube 25 which may be manually adjusted for height by operation of the thumb screw 24 and the seat I2 swivels upon the member 26. The seat [2 is prevented from becoming detached from its supporting tube 26 by means of an annular groove 29 formed in the stub shaft 23 and into which projects a screw 31 threaded into the upper end of the tubular member 26 and projecting a short distance into the annular groove 29. Thus the swivel connection is held together by means of a screw fitting within a groove on the internal member of the swivel.

appropriate foot rest is provided for the chair 2B and includes two upright post members 32 welded to the juncture of the members is with the axles l3 and having a transverse member 33 welded thereto. This foot rest not only aids in the comfort of the barber, but also provides a means for assisting in the balance .of the stool as a whole.

It will be noted particularly with reference to Fig. 2 that the center post 19 is not mounted in the center of the stool base-but rather toward the outside thereof. This feature enhances the stability of the chair as a whole due to the fact that the weight of the leg portion of the body is disposed to one side thereof, thus balancing the entire weight of the barbers body near the center of the chair as a whole.

The entire structure of the chair is preferably made of tubular members which are not only inexpensive to obtain, but result in extremely light construction.

When it is desired to move the chair about, the barber merely touches one foot to either of the two inner wheels ll, rotating them by means of his foot to cause the chair as a whole to move along a circular path. If the barber desires to move further away from his client or closer thereto, he merely momentarily shifts his weight to the foot rest 33 and manually rotates the seat l2 under him. Since the seat I2 is eccentrically rotated, he may provide the desired bodily movement in a simple fashion.

Our invention has been illustrated with respect 1 to a chair formed of tubular members. However,

it is not limited to this specific structure, nor to any other specific construction illustrated herein, or otherwise, except by the terms of the following claim.

We claim:

1. A barbers chair comprising a polygonal base having opposite sides formed of welded tubes and the other two sides formed by inclined axles, wheels mounted on the two axles, a tie rod connecting' the two tubular sides of the base, a vertical post secured to the tie rod and having a pair of inclined braces connected from a mid point thereof to points of intersection of the two axles with one side of the tubes of the base member and two other braces secured to the post and to the tubular portions of the base where they intersect with the tie member.

2. A barbers chair comprising a framework having two inclined axles on the lower portion and a seat portion on the upper end thereof, wheels mounted on the ends of the axles, and a foot rest secured to the framework adjacent to the wheels on the converging ends of the axles and spaced from said wheels so that the wheels may be pedally operated.

BEN KLEIN. CARL G. HOBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 724,218 Sulikx Mar. 31, 1903 879,154 Draper and Hughes Feb. 18, 1908 1,365,873 Waderlow Jan. 18, 1921 2,091,872 Muller Aug. 31, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 112,641 Great Britain Jan. 24, 1918 

